Tag Archives: mortgage

In early January, President Obama announced that he would lower FHA mortgage insurance premiums to help lower the mortgage payments of future FHA borrowers who are planning on purchasing or refinancing. On Jan. 26, those lower mortgage insurance premiums went into effect. Most lenders require 20 percent down on the purchase of a house, but the Federal Housing Authority allows borrowers to buy a home with as little as 3.5 percent down. FHA mortgage insurance covers the lender for the difference in case the borrower defaults. How much did President Obama save borrowers by lowering the premium? For every $100,000 …

The name Ciardelli is very well known in our ethnic community, and certainly in the legal community. Victor Ciardelli, now an elder and highly respected lawyer and statesman, has been a leading litigator for decades. This month we highlight the career and successes of his son, Victor. It seems lately that we are highlighting the careers of the children of our leading lights. I guess that old adage has merit: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Victor Ciardelli, CEO and founder of Guaranteed Rate, is an innovative entrepreneur who is revolutionizing the mortgage industry. After graduating from Columbia …

At the time of his writing in Mid-November, Interest rates are a lot lower than where I had expected them to be for the end of 2014. The Federal Reserve has now completed the third and final round of quantitative easing, or QE, ending its longstanding policy of buying bonds to artificially push rates down. The government’s bond-buying binge was aimed at lifting the economy out of the worst recession in years. With the Fed now absent from the bond-buying arena, one would think that rates would be a lot higher because now only market forces are dictating where interest …

The Good Faith Estimate (or GFE in my world) offers an estimated cost for the mortgage, as well as the mortgage terms. It’s the document I always send to customers when I quote them a rate. It’s also the one document I recommend they get from other companies if they want to compare rates and costs with my company. The GFE consists of three pages. Page 1 consists of: Date a borrower has to respond by How long the rate is locked for The loan amount The interest rate The term of the mortgage Whether the payment can go up …